A Third Degree for Rebecca Leah Rogers

While many MUW graduates consider their out-of-class experiences to be as big a part of their education as the classes, Rebecca Leah Rogers received her last two degrees from a very different type of school, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Said Rebecca "Students in the Medical Technology Programs do not get to choose their classes. They have 2 years of Monday-Friday 8 to 5 scheduled for them - and you don't get any abscenses. UT believes that their programs are like work. Hospitals can't close just because they feel like it, and hospital employees cannot miss work, like many college students choose to skip class. So there is a zero tolerance for missing classes. Plus there are not many extra-curricular activities. And there really is NO time for extracurricular activities. I was a class officer and we held weekly meetings. We tried to be as involved as possible, but that really boiled down to getting together as a group (of 12) to celebrate each other's birthdays and trying to do community service projects. I really missed the tradition and the ties I had at the W. I actually spent several of my weekends back in Columbus throughout MT school. Participating in the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) is the closest thing I have found that I can get as involved in as I want -- it reminds me a lot of the relationships I made at the W through social clubs and extracurriculars."

After Rebecca received her B.S. in Microbiology from MUW in 2000, she stayed at the W an extra year before heading to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where she received a B.S. in Medical Technology in 2004. Her most recent degree, conferred in December, 2009, was a M.S. in Clinical Laboratory Science, with an emphasis in Laboratory Management, also from UTHSC.

While at Mississippi University for Women, Rebecca was a member of the Highlander Social Club (President), BlackList Honorary Social Club, Meh Lady Yearbook Staff, New Horizons II, and Imagine. She served as Interclub Parliamentarian, was a Hottentot, a member of the Honors College and Mortar Board She was Senior Class Secretary / Treasurer 1999-2000 and Lambda Tau Secretary. As an alumnae she has been President and Treasurer of the Highlander Alumnae Association, and was a representative to the BlackList Alumnae Association Steering Committee.

When asked how her MUW education prepared her for her current endeavors, Rebecca told us "I held many leadership positions at the W: participating in social clubs - holding offices - scheduling pledging programs and all the activities we participated in throughout the year. All of these things have translated into skills that have proven to be invaluable to me in my pusuit of higher education, as well as my ventures in the professional world to climb the carreer ladder within the field of medical laboratory science."

Rebecca is now reaching the 4 year mark as a Medical Technologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, with a part time job at St. Francis Hospital - Memphis where she has worked since July of 2004. In October of 2009 she received her Laboratory Supervisor's License for the state of TN, and she is gaining opportunities for leadership development and hopes to move into laboratory management one day. For now she works on the evening shift, and is currently the Secretary of ASCLS-Tennessee and the President-Elect of the Memphis Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

Rebecca, you and your achievements are a credit to your Alma Mater and we know you'll go far.